The Paths We Tread: Reunion
by RosesandThorns666
Summary: When their dad goes missing, Blaire Winchester and her older brother Dean go to find their little brother Sam. They head out on the road together, determined to find John. Rewrite of my Paths series. Please R&R! Rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** When their dad goes missing, Blaire Winchester and her older brother Dean go to find their little brother Sam. They head out on the road together, determined to find John. Rewrite of my _**Paths**_ series. Please R &R!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own _Supernatural_ or its characters. I only own Blaire Winchester.

 **A/N:** Hey, guys! Sorry it's been so long. I've recently left my job to start running our business from home and I am pleased to announce that I have more time to work on my writing. As I have received the gift of more time to do the things I love, I have returned to my **_Paths_** series, and decided to do a complete rewrite. **This does mean that I will be removing the original stories if people prefer this set up to the old one, and replacing them with new and hopefully better ideas.** The first story was cringe-worthy in places (really, it did make me cringe), so I've taken out some things about Blaire's past and her character and replaced them with others. So, here's chapter one of the newly written series starting right from Season 1: Episode 1, and we'll continue from there. I have six chapters ready for publishing and will be writing many more. Please let me know what you think, and above all, enjoy the new version!

Happy reading!

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* * *

 **~ The Paths We Tread: Reunion ~  
~ Chapter One ~**

It had been a great night for Sam Winchester.

He'd scored a 174 on his LSAT, and he was going to an interview on Monday to hopefully get a full ride at Stanford University the following year. He was sleeping soundly next to his beautiful girlfriend Jessica, when a thud sounded in his apartment, drawing him out of sleep. He didn't know that the very sound he'd just heard would mark the beginning of the end of this life, and the rebirth of the one he'd left behind two years earlier.

The thud woke him straight up, and it was followed by another thud and a small gasp of pain. His senses kicked in immediately and he was already alert to the fact that he and Jessica could be in danger, so the brunette didn't waste any time in getting up to see what was going on. He left Jessica to sleep so that he could go and investigate without scaring her.

The floor creaked quietly as he tread over it as carefully as possible. He noticed the open window into the apartment, and then looked towards the beaded curtain that hid the entrance to the kitchen.

Suddenly, a shape moved past the door. Sam let out a quiet gasp, backing himself up against the wall to sneak up on the intruder. When the figure came through the door, Sam jumped it straight away. The pair fought for numerous moments, pretty much throwing each other around the room. To Sam's amazement, they both kept their combat so controlled that nothing ended up broken. His opponent was skilled, and the two of them battled it out to try and wear down their enemy, until a light was switched on, and a familiar stern voice sounded in Sam's ears.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

Sam was then tackled to the floor, only to see another familiarity staring him right in the face. His home had been invaded by his own siblings, and he could barely believe he was seeing them again. It had been so long, and he wasn't exactly thrilled to see them either.

"Dean? Blaire?" He asked as Dean held him to the floor, quickly glancing over at his sister who didn't look at all impressed, "You guys scared the crap out of me!"

"That's because you're out of practice." Dean told him, only to be flipped onto his back by Sam, "Or not..."

"Guys, seriously. Cut it out." The blonde woman said, moving over to the pair, "Get up."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked his sister, leaving Dean to get up on his own, "You promised me that you wouldn't come looking for me, Blaire."

"I know I did..." The green-eyed woman breathed, "This wasn't my idea, but we need to talk to you."

"The phone?" Sam asked.

"If we'd have called, would you have picked up?" Dean asked him, moving over to his sister's side.

"Sam?"

Another feminine voice joined the conversation, and as everyone turned to look at the owner, Dean and Blaire both went wide-eyed. The blonde girl that stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and shorts, was absolutely stunning. So stunning, in fact, that Blaire had to smack her older brother to stop him gawking.

"Dean, Blaire... This is my girlfriend, Jessica." Sam said quietly.

"This is your brother and sister?" Jessica asked with a grin, showing two rows of beautiful white teeth.

"Oh, I love the smurfs..." Dean said, indicating her top before approaching her slowly with a big smile on his face, "You know, I gotta tell you, you are completely out of my brother's league."

Blaire just hid her face from Jessica's view and then looked at Sam apologetically, mouthing 'Sorry!' at him as she did so. Jessica was clearly uncomfortable and Sam was clearly pissed at them for being there in the first place. Dean could be such a douche sometimes. It drove her insane. No matter where he went, he was checking out girls left right and centre, and usually went to bed with them as well. Their Dad always said that there must be millions of little Deans running around somewhere. The older Winchester brother was once being so arrogant about his skills as a lover, that Blaire challenged him to a contest to see who could get the most girls just to shut him up. Amazingly, Blaire won.

"Get away from her, you pervert." The twenty-four year old snapped, dragging her brother away from Jess, "I'm so sorry..."

She then turned to Sam who approached his girlfriend, putting an arm around her protectively. Blaire thought it was adorable. It was great to see him settled down, and no matter how it had hurt when he left, this was all she had ever wanted for him. The day that he left had been so painful, but she had been determined that he was going to have a better future than the one she had. The only thing was that it was unlikely to work out that way. After all, they were Winchesters. When was a peaceful existence ever an option for them?

"So, what's this about?" Sam asked, looking at his brother and sister expectantly.

"Dad hasn't been home in a few days." Dean said, watching Sam's expression turn cold again.

"So, he's working overtime on a Miller-time shift. He'll stumble back sooner or later." The younger Winchester said, almost snottily.

"Sorry..." Blaire began, trying not to sound too sarcastic after picking up on his attitude, "Maybe we weren't being clear enough. Dad's on a _hunting_ trip. He hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam's expression then changed to one of concern which Blaire raised her eyebrows at in acknowledgement. After the exchange, Dean moved Blaire towards the door as Sam explained to his girlfriend that he needed to talk with his family outside. Blaire looked up at Dean with a frown as Sam headed to get dressed first, and she folded her arms over her chest as he and Jess returned to their bedroom.

"We shouldn't have come here." She muttered, "He's so settled. We shouldn't be dragging him out there with us."

"Blaire, we need him." Dean replied, raising his eyebrows at his sister, "It's not ideal. I want nothing but the best for the kid, but we need him. We can't do this on our own. We both miss him too damn much. You know that deep down he's one of us. He loves the thrill of it, and you know he does."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we should tear him away from this." Blaire said quietly, "He should be able to enjoy this while it lasts. We both know he won't have it forever. Something always bites us."

When Sam returned, the situation quickly escalated into a mini-domestic, so Blaire excused herself and went to wait outside the apartment building. She wasn't about to stand there and listen to them bicker about their upbringing. That part of their lives had gone. They'd lost one parent already and now the other parent was missing, so the real focus should've been finding their dad, not arguing about their childhoods.

"The weapon training, and melting the silver into bullets?"

Blaire rolled her eyes at the sound of the argument heading her way. She'd just about had enough of being in this place as it was, and frankly, she just wanted to find her dad. Not screw around arguing about the way they'd been brought up. Their dad had done the best he could, even if his methods weren't fully agreeable.

"Man, Dean... We were raised like warriors!"

"So what are you gonna do?" Blaire asked, taking the words right out of Dean's mouth, "Live some normal, apple-pie life? 'Cause you know as well as I do that this stuff will come back to bite you. It always does."

"It isn't a normal life, Blaire. It's safe." Sam protested.

"You're a Winchester, Sam." Blaire told him, her eyes darkening, "You'll _never_ be safe. None of us will. We're a cursed family."

"I was just going to college..." Sam said quietly, earning a shake of the head from his siblings, "It was Dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."

"Well, Dad's in real trouble right now." Dean said, moving to stand beside his sister who had her arms folded again, "If he's not dead already. I can feel it. Both of us can. We can't do this alone."

"Yes, you can." Sam huffed incredulously, "You've got each other."

"Yeah? Well we don't want to do this alone." Blaire said honestly, tears welling up in her eyes, "Sam, we miss you... I miss you so much..."

She looked away from him after a few moments and took a deep breath to try and contain her upset before she had a full blown crying fit. She'd been so devastated when he'd left them, like, devastated beyond words. She felt like part of her had died because she knew she probably wouldn't see him again.

After a few moments of silence, Sam sighed. He hated to see Blaire upset like that. She was his sister after all and had been like a mother to him for many years. When their mother had passed away, she was the only feminine influence he'd had. She and Dean meant the world to him, even though he didn't want any part of the life they had any more.

"What was he hunting?" He asked.

Dean, without another word, led Sam to the trunk of the car, and opened it, lifting up the floor of the trunk to reveal all of the weapons that he and Blaire used for hunting. The collection was extensive to say the least, and had grown significantly since Sam last saw them.

"Alright, let's see..." Dean muttered, looking around the trunk, "Where the hell did I put that thing...?"

"So, when Dad left, why didn't you guys go with him?" Sam asked from his place at the left side of the trunk.

"We were working our own gig. This voodoo thing in New Orleans." Blaire said, reaching across the trunk to grab what Dean was looking for.

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourselves?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"I'm twenty-six, dude." Dean replied with a frown, "Blaire's twenty-four..."

"Enough, guys..." Blaire snapped, pulling out the paperwork she'd been looking for, "So, Dad was checking out this Two-Lane Blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy... They found his car, but he'd vanished. MIA."

She passed the paperwork to Dean who then began to pass it across to Sam, sheet by sheet. The younger sibling examined it, wanting to shake his head. This didn't have anything about it that screamed _supernatural_.

"Maybe he was kidnapped."

Blaire simply shook her head and scratched the tip of her small nose. She then pulled out another sheet, almost identical to the first, except it was about another man who'd gone missing.

"Yeah, well... Here's another one in April." She said, passing the sheet along, "Another one in December '04, '03, '98, '92... Ten of them over the past twenty years. All men. All of them on the same five-mile stretch of road."

Dean reached into the car and retrieved his road maps which he opened up as he talked to Sam.

"It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go and dig around. That was about three weeks ago." He said, looking up at Sam, "We haven't heard from since, which is bad enough. Then I get this voicemail yesterday."

He pulled out a tape recorder and pressed play, holding it up for Sam to hear. As the message played, Blaire felt the same sinking in her heart as she had the first time she'd heard that message. While their dad hadn't given them an ideal upbringing, it wasn't the worst either. She loved that man so much, and she was worried sick about him. Hearing his voice only brought it home.

" _Dean, something is starting to happen. I think it's serious. I need to try to find out what's going on."_ The audio in between was muffled, _"Be very careful, Dean. Look after your sister. We're all in danger."_

Dean stopped the tape and looked up at Sam who now had a deep frown on his face. Sam looked at the recorder and then back at his siblings.

"You know there's E.V.P on that?"

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean said with a proud smile, turning to Blaire, "I knew he hadn't lost it."

"Alright." Blaire muttered, taking the tape recorder as she moved between her brothers, "I slowed the message down, and ran it through a Goldwave. Took out the hiss, and this is what I got."

She then pressed play on the recorder, gazing at Sam with a worried expression. The recording crackled for a few moments, and then a soft female voice sounded over the top of the crackling.

" _I can never go home."_

"... _'Never go home'..._ " Sam repeated, watching Dean close the trunk of the car after Blaire had carefully placed the recorder back inside.

The two siblings moved to lean against the trunk of the car and Dean looked to his little sister, who had her head pointed in the direction of her feet, as she always did when she was uncomfortable. She'd been in so much pain when Sam decided to leave, it had been almost unbearable for all of them to witness.

Dean had been the one picking up the pieces that Sam left behind, and he'd been the one that had spent two years missing Sam and not being able to tell anyone. So he was pretty pissed that Sam was acting like they were asking the world of him.

"You know, in almost two years, we've never bothered you. Never asked you for a thing." He said, watching Blaire lift her head to look up at her little brother.

"Alright." Sam said after huffing and puffing for a few moments, "I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back, first thing on Monday. Just wait here."

"Hey, what's first thing Monday?" Blaire asked excitedly.

"I have this..." Sam hesitated.

He didn't know if he wanted his siblings knowing about law school yet. He didn't think that they'd understand or that they'd be proud of him, especially since he'd pretty much torn Blaire's heart out when he'd left.

"I have this interview..." He finished.

"What, a job interview? Skip it." Dean said, earning a light thump on the arm from Blaire, and a small laugh from Sam who couldn't believe what Dean had just said.

"It's a law school interview." He said, hearing Blaire gasp at the revelation, "It's my whole future on a plate."

"Oh, Sam..." Blaire breathed with a grin, "I'm so proud of you!"

"So, we got a deal or not?" Sam asked, shooting her down in an instant.

Dean nodded at his brother, who then turned to head back inside. He looked at Blaire who was clearly hurt by her brother's complete ignorance of her enthusiasm and affection. He moved towards her and wrapped an arm around her pulling her closer to give her a quick hug. Her blonde hair tickled his jaw as he leaned his head against hers.

"He'll come round, kiddo." Dean said, "You wanna ride shotgun?"

"No, he can." Blaire replied, looking up at her brother with a sad smile, "I'd rather sit in the back anyway. Like old times, right?"

Dean grinned at her and pushed her head, ruffling her hair. The dark blonde waves ended up all in her face, and she hurried to brush the collar-length locks out of her face, catching her fingers in freshly made tangles. She scowled at her older brother who had a huge grin on his face.

"Why would you do that?" She asked him, gathering all her hair together again as Dean chuckled at her and climbed into the car.

She brushed it out of the way and then ruffled it so it fell nicely around her face, before she climbed into the back seat, waiting for Sam to return.

* * *

When Blaire awoke, it was to the sound of Dean's voice. The bright sun hurt her eyes and she was quick to shield them from it as Dean asked if anyone wanted breakfast. He turned to her with a grin when he saw her messy hair, and he opened her car door, throwing a bag of chips into her lap.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." He laughed, "Your might wanna fix that hair before Prince Charming comes along."

"Get out of here." Blaire huffed, pushing him away which led him to close the door on her, still chuckling to himself, "And it's Prince Philip, you ass!"

"So how'd you pay for that stuff?" Sam asked as Dean loaded the trunk, "You guys still running credit card scams?"

"Yeah, well..." Dean muttered, replacing the fuel pump back in its holder, "Hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."

"Yeah, and what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam asked with a laugh.

"Burt Aframian, his son Hector, and daughter Marianne." Dean answered, getting into the driver's side of the car, "Scored three cards out of the deal."

"Sounds about right." Sam chuckled, looking over his shoulder at Blaire, "Marianne really suits you."

"I actually prefer Marianne to Blaire." She replied with a grin, brushing her hair out of her face before opening her bag of chips, "Sounds much prettier."

"I swear to God, man..." Sam huffed dropping a tape back into the cardboard box in his hands, "You've got to update your cassette-tape collection."

"Shhh... No, no, no..." Blaire quickly sat forward in her seat, "Don't insult the collection. Just leave it... Put it back where you found it."

"Why do I have to update it?" Dean asked.

"Well, one, they're cassette tapes." Sam said with a disapproving frown, "And two, Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"Well, house rules, Sammy." Dean said, snatching the ACDC tape that Sam was waving around and putting it in the cassette player, "Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole. Ain't that right, Lil' B?"

"Damn right." Blaire replied with a wide smile, settling back into her seat.

"You still call her Lil' B...?" Sam asked Dean with raised eyebrows, "You do understand that she's had a five inch growth spurt since then, right...?"

"She likes Lil' B." Dean answered, "Don't you, Blaire?"

"That I do." She said with a grin, holding her bag of chips out to her younger brother, "Chip, Sammy?"

"No, and you know, Sammy's a twelve year old, chubby kid's name. It's Sam from now on, okay?"

"Sorry!" Dean called as _Back in Black_ started to play, "We can't hear you! The music's too loud!"

With that he started the car and they pulled away from the gas station. The drive was pretty fun for Sam, not that he wanted to admit it. Hearing Dean and Blaire singing along to ACDC brought back memories of his childhood, when they'd have tapes on in the motel room and they'd both be playing air guitar to it. They had some good times as kids, even though they'd had to grow up so fast.

Later in the ride, Sam had been calling around local hospitals and morgues to see if anyone of their father's description had been seen or taken there. It turned out that no-one had been admitted to any such places matching his description. That was a relief to say the least. As they continued to drive on the road, they saw two cop cars pulled up near a bridge.

"Check it out..." Dean said, drawing the attention of his siblings to the incident.

He pulled up and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out a box that contained a ton of fake badges and IDs. He handed Blaire one of hers and took out one of his own, looking at Sam with a grin.

"Let's go."

Sam could barely breathe. He hadn't done this for a long time and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to pull it off. Blaire followed Dean out of the car, the heels of her boots clicking against the road as she put on a pair of sunglasses that sat in her pocket. She ran her hands through her hair to make it look a bit more free and sexy, and then pulled her vest down so that her breasts were more prominent because sometimes, boobs helped in these situations.

The police at the scene were discussing the missing person, who happened to be the boyfriend of the daughter of one of them. The two policemen were astounded to see three apparent civilians right in the middle of their crime scene.

"You fellas had another one of these last month, didn't you?" Blaire spoke in a smokier tone than normal, putting on a fake Southern accent which made Sam's eyes widen.

He'd never heard _that_ kind of voice come out of his sister before. He knew she was good at putting on an act in certain situations but he didn't know she was doing accents now.

"And who are you?" The African-American officer asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Federal Marshals." She said, flipping her badge at the officer.

"You three are a little young for Marshals, aren't you?" He asked, earning a rather flirty laugh from Blaire as she pulled her sunglasses slightly away from her eyes.

"My, that's awful kind of you." She breathed, her smile fading as the sunglasses then returned to her eyes, once the officer had managed to get a good look at her properly, "You did have another one like this last month, correct? Or am I gonna have to repeat myself a third time?"

"Uh, yes... That's right, we did. About a mile up the road." The officer replied, clearing his throat.

Sam shot a quick, amused glance at Dean, who gave him a thumbs up behind his back as he followed Blaire. She was looking around the car for any signs of supernatural activity, like sulfur, which was often left by demons.

"There have been others before that." The officer continued.

"So, this victim... You knew him?" Sam asked, earning a nod from the officer.

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody."

"Any connections between the victims, besides that they're all men?" Dean asked as he and Blaire examined the car.

"No. Not so far as we can tell." The officer replied.

"So, what's the theory?" Sam asked, approaching the car himself.

"Honestly? We don't know." The officer answered with a small frown, "Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?"

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect outta you guys." Dean said with a grin, only for Sam to stamp on his foot to shut him up. Blaire wanted to slap him. His mouth had gotten them into trouble so many times.

"Thanks for your time." Blaire said, tipping her sunglasses down to bat her eyelids at the cops once more, who were all checking her out, "Gentlemen..."

She began to walk away, swaying her hips a little. Dean and Sam followed behind, and Dean took the opportunity to slap the back of Sam's head once he was sure the cops weren't looking.

"What's that for?" Sam asked with a hiss.

"Why'd you stamp on my foot?!" Dean asked him in a hushed tone.

"Why do you talk to the police like that?" Sam asked, wearing his classic bitch face.

"Come on." Dean said, getting in front of Sam, "They don't really know what's going on! We're all alone on this, and if we're gonna find Dad, we have to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

"Can I help you people?"

Dean turned around to see three men standing in front of them, and Blaire decided enough was enough, and took over the situation. She removed the glasses again and slowly slid a strand of hair behind her ear, giving the man before her the sweetest and sexiest smile she could. She was glad she had fairly good looks. Her dad said she could bring any man she wanted to his knees with looks like hers, but she never believed him.

"No, sir. We were just leaving." She spoke in that smoky tone again and turned to her brothers, "Come along, fellas."

They passed the men as the FBI agents began to walk towards the police, and they tried not to flinch at the feeling of the other officer's eyes piercing them as they left.

~ To Be Continued ~

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 **Hope you enjoyed chapter one!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Supernatural_ or its characters. I only own Blaire Winchester.

 **A/N:** Hi, guys! I hope you all enjoyed chapter one. I'd love to get some feedback on the new Blaire and whether you guys like this rewrite or not. Thanks so much to everyone who has read, favourited and alerted this story! It's so great to get support from you guys! I hope you enjoy chapter two, and I'll continue to upload and write more chapters when I can.

Happy reading!

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* * *

 **~ The Paths We Tread: Reunion ~  
~ Chapter Two ~**

"Let me know when you're coming back so I can unlock the door." Blaire instructed her brothers as she started unpacking her things in their motel room, turning to Sam to explain, "I'm still really cautious about leaving it unlocked."

"We'll go and see if we can find this Amy girl that the cops were talking about, and we'll let you know if we get anything." Dean replied as his sister unpacked her laptop and sat on the bed she'd taken, "You gonna be okay?"

"Dean, I'm fine." She laughed, "Go. And bring me back some pie or something."

"Sure. See you later, Lil' B."

With that, her brothers left the room, and she waited until the car had pulled away from the motel before hurrying to the door and locking it. She let out a deep breath when she'd done so, and then returned to her bed to begin researching local legends on her laptop, which was her first port of call whenever she was on a hunt. She hated leaving the door unlocked. Anything could come in if you let your door unbolted, and after a bad experience with a drunken hobo, Blaire wasn't going to put herself in that situation again.

It didn't take her long to find a result, and then she went on to search details about said legend. The legend was that a woman had died on that stretch of road, but that she hadn't quite left. She was still there and appeared to men as a hitchhiker. She then got into their vehicles and they were never seen again. The more she researched, the more she uncovered, and soon, Blaire had the story of a woman named Constance who had committed suicide when she'd found her two children dead in the bathtub. Just as she finished up reading, her phone rang, and she saw that it was Dean.

Flipping the pink phone open, she heard Dean's happy voice on the end of the line, which, in her mind, meant that he'd got a result. He must've been so proud of himself.

" _We know what's been happening on that bridge._ " He told her.

"Constance." Blaire answered, "She committed suicide up there, right?"

" _Aww, man... You always beat us to it!_ " Dean huffed.

"Just get all the info you can and get back here." Blaire replied, running her hand through her hair, "We going up there tonight?"

" _Yep. Best place to start, don't you think?"_ Dean told her, " _We'll be back in ten minutes._ "

"Okay." Blaire said sweetly, "Bye."

She flipped her phone shut and returned to her laptop, closing down the web browser and then shutting the computer down. She took advantage of the ten minutes she had and hopped in the shower, hurriedly getting dried and dressed into some fresh clothes before unlocking the door for her brothers. She got her spare bag ready and began to check her weapons, making sure that they were clean. While they usually left things in the car, Blaire always had some weapons with her in case of emergency.

In this life, you never knew what could come through the door.

* * *

Darkness had fallen over Jericho, and Dean, Sam and Blaire were walking up the bridge towards the site of Constance's death.

The water bellowed beneath them as it raced by, causing the moonbeams that landed on it to dance wildly as though they were as restless as the water. Blaire shuddered and pulled her black jacket tighter around her body. It was cold that night.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean said, looking over the railing.

"So, you think Dad would've been here?" Sam asked with a grimace as the siblings all rested against the railing and looked down at the water.

"Well, he's chasing the same story, and we're chasing him." Blaire sighed, moving away from the railing to walk along the bridge.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asked as he and Dean followed her footsteps.

"We keep digging 'til we find him. It might take a while." Dean answered calmly, despite being able to practically feel Sam's bitch face.

"Dean... I told you..." Sam said, trying not to lose his patience, "I have to be back by Monday."

"You're really serious about this interview, aren't you?" Dean asked him with a smirk, "You think you're just gonna become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"

"Maybe." Sam replied defensively, "Why not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth?" Dean continued to question his brother, "Does she know about the things you've done?"

"No, and she's not ever going to know." Sam replied, stepping closer to Dean.

Blaire moved to stand between them. She hated it when her brothers fought and the tension level was getting pretty high between the three of them at that point. Sam was a Winchester and he couldn't hide from it. Keeping the truth about his life from Jessica wasn't a great basis to start a marriage on and the middle sibling knew that in his heart, Sam knew this as well.

"Well that's healthy." Dean told him, "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later, you're gonna have to face up to who you really are."

"And who's that?" Sam asked.

"You're one of us." Dean responded, walking away which caused Blaire to put a hand on her head with irritation.

"No. I'm not like you!" Sam argued, getting in front of him and blocking his way, "This is not going to be my life."

"You're a Winchester, Sam." Blaire told him, as she had earlier, approaching the pair slowly, "You can't just run away from your responsibilities. You owe this to our mother."

"You know, without any pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like." Sam responded, earning an angry glare from his sister as she squared up to him.

She may have only been five feet and eight inches tall but his height didn't scare her. She positioned herself so that she was right in his face, and her voice became low and angry. She hated the words that had just come out of his mouth. They were like poison to her.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything? She was your mother! She brought you into this world, and whether you knew her or not, you owe it to her!" Blaire snapped, grabbing him and hauling him into the bridge.

Sam was astounded by the strength that his sister had. She hauled his six foot, and four inch frame into the bridge and hurt his back in the process. Dean quickly stepped forward to get her to let him go, but Blaire just drew Sam closer to her face, her eyes never leaving his. Tears were now present in those beautiful green eyes, and that was all it took for Sam to know that he had seriously hit a nerve.

"Don't you dare talk about her as though she doesn't matter." She snarled, "She gave you life. She died protecting you as well. So don't you _dare_ talk about her like that ever again, or I'll make you regret it, I swear to God."

"Easy." Dean said quietly near her ear, "Let him go."

She let her brother go and turned away from him, running her hands over her face. Dean gave Sam a half-hearted glare and the younger Winchester bowed his head in shame. As Blaire wiped her eyes, she looked back at the bridge ahead, and her heart leapt into her throat.

"Guys..."

The two brothers turned and were met with the same sight as she was. A woman in white was standing on the railing, her dark hair blowing in the wind. The moon gave her beautiful figure an eerie glow, and her gaze was fixed on the siblings. A chill ran down Blaire's spine as the woman stared at them. The air seemed to have grown colder all of a sudden, and Blaire wrapped her jacket around herself further as she shivered in the wind.

The woman kept her gaze on the siblings, and then slowly, without tearing her gaze away, she toppled over the side of the bridge, sending the Winchesters into a panic. They flew to the other side of the bridge, looking for any sign of the woman. But there was no-one there.

"Do you see her?" Blaire asked, "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know..." Sam replied, looking frantically around the area to see if she'd hit the water because they'd not heard a splash.

Suddenly, behind them, the Impala had started up. Dean almost swore as they stepped back into the centre of the bridge to see what was happening as the beautiful rumbling of the Impala's engine sounded in their ears. Blaire couldn't believe her eyes. His car had started on its own...

"What the...?" Dean asked with wide eyes.

"Dude, who's driving your car?" Sam asked him, watching in horror as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.

The car then startled hurtling towards them, her engine roaring as it got faster and faster. In their panic, the siblings began to run away from the car, sprinting for their lives. As it was catching up, Sam jumped over the side of the bridge and managed to grab hold of a ledge to stop himself from falling in. Dean leapt over the side and landed in the water, but Blaire kept running. As soon as Dean and Sam had disappeared the car stopped where it was.

Once she realised the car wasn't after her, she rushed back to the side of the bridge and moved to help Sam back over the side. It took some effort on her part but she managed to pull him up and over, with him helping himself as well. The two of them frantically searched the water for any sign of Dean. Initially he was nowhere to be seen, and Blaire was about to jump in to go and look for him, when Sam called out their elder Winchester's name.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, spotting his drenched brother crawling onto the bank of the river.

"What?!" A very angry and sodden Dean yelled in return.

"Oh, my God..." Blaire breathed, "Hey, are you alright?!"

"Super!" Dean called back, laying on his back which revealed how caked he was in mud.

Blaire and Sam shared a relieved laugh and went to go and meet their brother who trudged up the hill and back onto the bridge. He was a complete mess and must've felt incredibly uncomfortable. Blaire hurried forward to go and check on him because even if he said he was fine, Dean sometimes lied and he wasn't as well as he made out to be.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." She whispered, trying not to touch him as he was absolutely drenched and filthy.

"The car alright?" Sam asked, approaching the pair.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, it seems alright now." He said, glaring across the bridge, "That Constance chick... What a _bitch_!"

He shouted 'bitch' so loudly it made Blaire flinch. She looked around them at both ends of the bridge and took a deep breath, running her hand into the hair at the back of her head. Why had the car stopped at the boys and why had it not chased her? She was rather curious as to the motive for Constance taking all these men.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." Sam said quietly, sitting beside Dean as they rested on the hood of the Impala, "So, where does the trail go from here, genius?"

Dean raised his hands to say he didn't know and let out a puff of breath. He was sodden and covered in dirt. He was ready for bed and a damn hot shower. Blaire and Sam shared looks, both of them grimacing as they glanced at their brother who not only looked a mess, but he smelt pretty gross too.

"You smell like a toilet." Sam said, sniffing around Dean, only for the elder brother to glare at him.

"Come on. Let's head back." Blaire told them, "I bet Dean could use a shower."

* * *

The next morning, the three siblings headed out for breakfast and then decided to carry on researching back in their room. Sam was the one having to sneak in and out of the room as they'd only paid for two people. Sam was rather disgruntled about that considering he was the largest of the trio and the most difficult to hide.

Walking back to the motel after their delicous meal, Blaire ran in to the manager who noticed the two brothers walking behind her, which caused him to look at her suspiciously, and then to glare at Sam. She took the chance to put on her sweetest voice and get them out of his questioning before he could even start it. She didn't enjoy lying but it was part of the job after all.

"Hi, um, my friend here needs a place to stay for the night. Uh... he's just had a fight with his girlfriend, you see and she's told him not to bother going home... Is it possible for us to book him in our room, and get some extra towels in there?" She asked with a frown, "I'll happily pay for the extra person and the extra service..."

"Sure. Follow me, all of you." The old man replied, beckoning them towards the reception.

He took the credit card from Blaire and looked at it, then returned his gaze to her again. He looked as though he'd just had a eureka moment, and as he filled out the details in the motel check-in book, he cleared his throat.

"You guys having a reunion or something?" He asked, handing her the card back.

"Pardon?" Blaire asked sweetly, taking her card.

"That other guy, Burt Aframian... He came in and bought out a room for the whole month. Thought I recognised the name on your card but I didn't know where from 'til now."

Blaire's heart stopped in her chest at his words. She quickly regained her composure and let out a sweet laugh, turning to her brothers and giving them a sly wink. If their dad had rented a room out it was highly possible that he was still in the area somewhere. The only question was where? All she could hope for in that moment was that he was safe. Thinking quickly, she cleared her throat and smiled up at the owner.

"Yeah, my dad's meeting us out here. We're starting a road trip of the States from here, is all." She responded, "Which room is he in?"

"Ten." The owner replied with a solemn expression, "Not seen or heard anything of him for days though."

"Oh, thanks." Blaire grinned, "We'll see if we can get a response out of him, huh? He's probably been busy planning our routes. Bless him. He's always well prepared."

"I'll fetch you your towels." The manager replied, heading to the back of the reception to bring out some clean white towels for Sam, which he gingerly handed to Blaire.

"Thanks. Have a good day." She said with a smile, turning around to head out of the reception, "Come on, boys."

As they left the room, Blaire quickly unlocked her room and threw the towels in, while Dean guarded Sam as he picked the lock to room ten. Sam stepped inside, mouth agape when he saw the state of the room. He quickly dragged Dean inside, and Blaire slipped in behind them, closing the door.

"Man..." She whispered, looking around at the clippings on the walls, and the salt on the floor, "What the...?"

Dean moved in and turned on a nearby lamp, and sitting under it was a half eaten burger that had clearly been there for a couple of days. Sam went to inspect the salt lines and other various wards that were scattered around the room, while Blaire moved around to look at the newspaper clippings on the wall. Sam picked some salt up between his fingers and examined it while Dean picked up the burger, wincing as he smelt it. It clearly had been there for a while.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple of days at least." Dean said, replacing the burger.

"Salt..." Sam began, rubbing the substance between his fingers, "Cat's-eye shells... He was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in."

Blaire studied the clippings and the sheets of paper stuck to the walls, brushing them with her fingers. Her dad's handwriting was messier than normal. She read the sheets and blew out a breath, biting her lip anxiously. His writing was rushed, as though he was worried and was trying to get as much information written down as possible before something came and stopped him from doing so. It wasn't like her dad to be so freaked out, and because he was quite obviously worried about _something_ , it made Blaire worry too.

"What have you got here?" Sam asked as he and Dean approached their scared looking sister.

"Centennial Highway victims." She responded quietly, not even turning to look at them, "I don't get it... Different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right?"

Sam, at this point, had moved his way across to the other side of the room, where maps and drawings of figures from ancient lore had been plastered on the walls. John had been a very busy boy during his time there.

"So, what is it that they have in common?" Dean asked, moving to look at the images with Sam.

The younger sibling moved away from his current spot and over to the back wall, switching on the lamp as he looked at all of the images around him.

"Dad figured it out." He said with a huff, catching the attention of the others.

"Huh?" Blaire asked, approaching him quickly.

"He found the same article as we all did." Sam replied, "Constance Welch is our woman in white."

"If it was a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it, right?" Dean suggested, looking back to his siblings.

"She might have another weakness." Sam said with a half smile.

"Dad would wanna make sure." Blaire replied with a shake of her head, "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell..." Sam told her, scratching his head, "If I were Dad though, I'd go and ask her husband, if he's still alive..."

"Why don't you get started on finding an address?" Blaire asked him quietly, "I just wanna do a double sweep and make sure we haven't missed any other articles."

She began to turn to head back to their own room when she heard Sam clear his throat. She turned around to look at him again, watching a guilty look spread onto his face as he tried to find the right words to say. Their encounter on the bridge had been heavy on both of their minds. Blaire never wanted to put her hands on her brother that way but the way he'd talked about their mother was disgusting. Sam knew he'd stepped out of line.

"Hey... What I said about Mom earlier..." He began quietly, "I'm sorry..."

"No chick flick moments." Blaire told him, nodding at him in acknowledgement, "Get onto that address, bitch. I'm going out for food."

* * *

Blaire was sitting in a diner eating the most beautiful burger she'd had in months when her cell phone rang. She chewed rapidly before she took the phone out of her pocket and answered it quickly, swallowing the mouthful of lettuce and meat.

"Everything alright, Sam?"

" _Dean's been arrested... I managed to get outta there before they got hold of me, but I scooped our stuff and ran._ " Sam said, barely taking a breath, " _I went to see Mr Welch to get out of the area, but judging by what we discussed, I think he cheated on Constance, and..._ "

"And that's why she killed the kids and then herself..." Blaire whispered with relief at the revelation, "Now we know what happened, we can find her weakness... Is Dean okay?"

" _I just pulled a fake 911 call to give him chance to break out. I'm coming to get you._ "

"When you get here, I'm driving the car, understand?" Blaire smirked, "I gave up shotgun for you."

" _Sure. See you in five._ "

Blaire put the phone down and grabbed her stuff, leaving a few bills for her food that she'd hustled from someone the previous month, before heading out to the front of the diner. Sam pulled up right on time, and the two quickly switched sides of the car. Blaire grinned wildly, revved the engine a few times, and then finally set off, sending the car roaring out of sight.

* * *

Sam had just been on the phone to Dean when it happened. The woman in white had appeared on the back seat of the car and had thrown Blaire out onto the side of the road. The car had then disappeared out of sight with Sam still sitting in the passenger seat. As Blaire lay on the tarmac, she knew damn well that if she didn't get her ass in gear, Sam could die.

"Shit!" She breathed, getting to her feet and sprinting after the car while trying to ignore the pain in her hands and knees.

There was no way some ghost was taking out her brother, especially not when she hadn't seen him for nearly two years. She played over the incident in her head for a few moments as she ran. For some reason, Constance wasn't interested in her, as evidenced by the incident on the bridge, and the incident on the road just a few minutes prior, and Blaire knew that she could use that lack of interest to her advantage. She sprinted and sprinted until she saw the lights of the Impala next to an old, derelict house. She heard gunshots and saw Dean shooting through the Impala's window as the spirit sat on top of Sam.

"Dean!" She yelled, sprinting towards the commotion while trying not to panic.

To her horror, the car then went speeding into the house, and as she caught up to Dean, she read the look of shock and terror on his face at the thought of Sam being hurt, as well as the car being damaged. The two of them raced inside and ran straight for the car to check on their brother. As Dean helped Sam to get out of the vehicle, Blaire was preoccupied with the spirit of Constance as she looked at the photo of her children which was strewn haphazardly on the floor.

Just as Dean got Sam out of the car, the dark-haired spirit threw a chest of drawers at the pair, blocking them against the car. Looking to the top of the stairs, Blaire saw two small figures appearing in the moonlight, and she smiled to herself. Constance wasn't going to last much longer, and Blaire knew now that she would be able to keep her brothers safe while the spirit was dealt with.

"I don't think so." She said lowly, stepping between her brothers and the ghost, "Someone's come to welcome you home."

She pointed to the stairs, where Constance set her eyes on her children for the first time in many, many years. In a flash, they were down the stairs, dragging their mother through the floor with them while she screamed and writhed to get away. Blaire winced and stepped back towards her brothers, moving the chest of drawers out of their way as they struggled against it. Constance disappeared into the floor in an explosion of light and noise, and then, she was gone.

"Are you alright?" Blaire asked them both, quickly pulling them into an embrace, "I thought you were gone, Sammy..."

Sam nodded in response and hugged Blaire back, relieved that she was also safe. The siblings all looked towards the wet patch that had been left on the floor by the children and let out sighs of relief. It was over. Constance had paid the price for killing her children all those years ago, and no other men were going to die at her hands because of her husband's mistake.

"This is where she killed her kids... That's why she could never go home." Blaire whispered, "She couldn't bear to face them."

"We found her weak spot. Good work guys." Dean said, patting Sam on the chest which caused him to yell in pain.

"I wish I could say the same for you!" He laughed at Dean, "What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey, I saved your ass." Dean replied, "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car... I'll kill you."

To this, Sam and Blaire could only laugh in response. They were safe and now, their next priority was getting Sam back for his interview.

* * *

Blaire sat in the back of the Impala, looking at the co-ordinates that John had left them in his journal. She whistled and let out a breath, clearing her throat as she brushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Okay, so Dad went on to a place called Blackwater Ridge, in Colorado."

"Sounds charming." Dean replied, "How far?"

"About six hundred miles." She huffed, "Damn..."

"If we shag ass, we can make it by morning." Dean responded, hearing Blaire clear her throat again.

"Dean... Sam has his interview in a few hours..." She said softly, reaching over to touch his shoulder gently, "We should take him home..."

Dean looked across at Sam who ducked his head, and he nodded, agreeing to drop his brother back at home. Blaire knew how hard this was for all of them, because having Sam back had been awesome. They'd truly missed him and they didn't want to see him go. But nevertheless, after a practically silent, long and horribly uncomfortable drive, they pulled up outside Sam's building.

The younger Winchester got out of the car, and Blaire joined him to swap seats with him. Sam only asked that they call him if they found their Dad, and he even said he might meet up with them later. That gave Blaire a small amount of comfort, even though her heart was tearing apart again.

As Sam stepped away from the car, Blaire went to get inside, but a sudden feeling of dread flitted into her stomach and she knew that she couldn't leave. Something was wrong.

"We can't go." She said quietly.

"What is it?" Dean asked, taking in the concern on her face, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know but we can't leave..." Blaire told him, "Let's just follow him up. Make sure he's okay."

Dean rolled his eyes and climbed out of the car, thinking that she was overreacting. He slowly decided to follow Blaire to the entrance of the building, and the two of them slipped inside. As they approached Sam's apartment, they heard him scream Jess's name, and the roar of a fire hit their ears.

Blaire's heart stopped. Twenty-two years ago was happening all over again and the thought of it was enough to almost make her completely stall with fear. Dean kicked the door of the apartment open and the two ran inside looking for their brother. Jess was on the ceiling, completely engulfed in flame, and Sam was laying on the bed, helplessly screaming her name.

The middle sibling rushed forward and grabbed him by the jacket, pulling him off the bed. It took the two of them to restrain him and get him out of the room and they both had to physically haul him down the stairs to get him to safety. While Dean called 911 outside the building, Blaire sat with her little brother, trying to soothe him as he grieved for the loss of his girlfriend.

"She's gone, Blaire... I can't believe she's gone."

Blaire's eyes were filled with tears as she cupped her brother's face and tried to wipe the tears away, before she pulled him closer to embrace him. His future had been ripped away from him there and then, and as she held him, Blaire remembered what she'd told him before. ' _We're a cursed family_...' God, how she hated being right...

"I'm so sorry, Sammy. I'm so, so sorry..."

The sounds of sirens soon filled their ears, and Dean made sure that he, Blaire and Sam were away from the commotion as onlookers soon started to fill the street. Soon, people were being evacuated from the building and Sam was taking this time to start checking the weapons in the car. Now he understood why his dad went on the crusade that he did. Now he knew why John was determined to find out what did that to their mother.

As Dean and Blaire approached him, Blaire rubbed his back gently, watching him throw the gun he had in his hands into the trunk. He gave the two older siblings a quick glance, and then reached up to close the trunk. As he did, he spoke five words that made Dean and Blaire feel a hint of relief. The Sam that they knew and loved was back...

"We've got to work to do."

-To Be Continued-

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thanks for reading so far!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Supernatural_ or its characters. I only own Blaire Winchester.

 **A/N:** Hi, guys! Thanks so much for reading, following and favouriting this fic. It means a lot, especially since I'm taking an old project and restarting it. I hope you like this chapter. I'm going to get more written as soon as I can. The best thing about this is that I am actually watching SPN from start to finish since I've managed to get my boyfriend into watching it too, so I can really get a feel of where I want this to go. Hope you enjoy!

 **Equal-Opportunity-Reader:** Thank you so, so much for constantly supporting the stories that I write, and for being a fantastic friend when I need someone to talk to. You are ace! Thanks for also taking the time to review and read this story!

Happy reading everyone!

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* * *

 **~ The Paths We Tread: Reunion ~  
~ Chapter Three ~**

Sam shot up in his seat in the Impala, waking to the sounds of mullet rock and the roar of the car's engine.

Dean and Blaire both cast concerned looks at each other through the rear view mirror, and then Dean licked his lips as he asked a question which he pretty much already knew the answer to. Sam had been having nightmares all week, and he wasn't dealing with his grief properly. That was mostly because he was way too angry to deal with it. His safe life had been ripped out of his hands, just as Blaire warned him it would be, and he couldn't help but feel pissed at her for being right, even though he knew there was nothing that any of them could've done to stop it.

"You okay?" Dean asked, casting a quick glance at his little brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam replied, trying to act as nonchalantly as he could.

"Another nightmare?" Dean asked again, keeping his attention on the road.

Sam merely cleared his throat in response, which answered the question for Dean. The younger Winchester turned at the sound of rustling and saw Blaire diving into a bag of chips as she looked through John's diary. Her hair was hung down as she looked into the bag, hiding some of her face from his view. She seemed to be holding back with the questioning that she'd been going at him with over the past week, constantly asking if he was okay and if he wanted to lie low for a little while and get some rest. But Sam had been so determined to hunt down whatever had murdered Jessica that he had eventually flown off the handle at Blaire, which had left her rather subdued around him.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean asked, causing Blaire's head to snap up and Sam to laugh.

"Dean, your whole life, you never once asked me that." Sam told him with another huff of laughter.

"Just thought you might want to." Dean replied with a hint of annoyance, "Never mind."

"Look man, you're worried about me..." Sam said quietly, "I get it. And, thank you. But I'm perfectly okay."

"Listen..." Blaire said, leaning forward, "I know you're worried that we left Stanford too early... That's not helping with your sleeping, is it?"

Sam shook his head, hearing his sister sigh as she reached out and ran her hand up and down his arm to soothe him. She bit her lip and took his hand, squeezing it. Jessica's death had hit Sam so hard, and he'd clearly been trying to deal with so much over the past week that it was taking its toll on him. Blaire was just trying to look at him but now she was scared that she was going too far, especially as he'd snapped at her the week before.

"We're not gonna find whatever killed Jessica until we find Dad." She said softly, "We were in Stanford for a week, babe, and we found nothing. Dad disappearing and then this thing showing up after twenty years is no coincidence. Dad will have answers."

Sam nodded and turned his attention back to the map in his hands as he looked at where they were going.

"It's weird man, these co-ordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge..."

"Yeah? What about it?" Dean asked, keeping his attention on the road.

"There's nothing there..." Sam replied, gazing at the map with confusion, "It's just woods... Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

He looked up at Blaire who took the map from him to examine it. She knew that their dad had reasons for pretty much everything but she had no idea why they were heading into a forest. Dean didn't answer Sam and just continued to drive towards the location in question, but Blaire just shook her head and handed Sam the map again.

"Only one person can answer that, and he ain't here." She said softly, looking at the sign for the Lost Creek National Forest, "Nothing we can do about it anyway. We're pretty much here now."

It didn't take them long to arrive at the Ranger's station, and they took the time to check out the local area that they'd be hunting in. Blaire was dreading it. She hated camping out; it always made her uneasy, and usually something bad happened when she was out in the wilderness like that.

"So, Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here." Sam said as he walked around the 3D map in the middle of the Ranger's station, "Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

The building was made out of dark wood and looked far from comforting. It didn't make anyone feel any better about being in the woods, especially when the three of them knew the kind of things that could be lurking in the trees. Blaire shuddered as she and Dean headed towards a picture of on the wall of a huge bear that instantly freaked both of them out. Huge wasn't even the right word to describe this thing.

"Jesus..." Blaire muttered, emphasising the 'e' in the name, "Get a look at this bear..."

Sam approached his startled looking siblings and saw the size of the animal in question, and it was, indeed, gargantuan. Imagine coming face to face with _that_ in the dark. The thought clearly scared the crap out of Blaire and Dean. Bears could be ferocious things, especially if you invaded their territory.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." Sam said, looking at his horrified siblings, "It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

The sound of a new voice startled the Winchesters, and Dean and Sam turned to look at the owner of it, who was an ageing ranger wearing a dark green baseball cap and the typical uniform, holding a cup of coffee. He had a very stern expression, and a stern voice to go with it, which made the three of them even more uneasy.

"You boys aren't planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" He asked, watching Blaire turn towards him and clearing his throat, "And lady?"

"Oh, no, sir..." She said with a grin, "We're environmental-study majors from UC Boulder. Just working on a paper. Ecosystems and all that."

"Recycle, man." Dean piped up, doing an adorable little fist pump that made the ranger grin.

"Bull." He then said with wide eyes, "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

"Yes. Yes we are... Ranger Wilkinson." Dean said with a rather displeased expression as the siblings approached him.

"Well, I'll tell you exactly what I told her." Wilkinson answered with his hands on his hips, "Her brother filled out a back country permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the 24th. So its not exactly a missing persons now, is it?"

The siblings just shook their heads, trying their best to play along. They had no idea who Haley was but in situations like these, it was often easier to just play along and see what kind of information you could get.

"Tell that girl to quit worrying." Wilkinson said, turning to leave, "I'm sure her brother's just fine."

"We will." Dean answered him, licking his lips quickly, "That Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"

"That's putting it mildly." Wilkinson responded with a small huff.

"Well, actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that back country permit." Dean said, approaching the older man again, "You know, so she could see her brother's return date."

The ranger seemed to consider this for a moment, and then he handed over a copy of the permit. That was enough to get the Winchesters out of that cabin and heading back towards the car. Dean seemed to celebrate a little as he folded up the permit which seemed to strike a nerve with Sam.

"Are you cruising for a hook-up or something?" He asked, ignoring Blaire's annoyed tut from behind them.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked in return, a little afronted.

"The co-ordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for?" Sam asked, seemingly really annoyed, "Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"

"Before you jump down your brother's throat and assume that he's looking for someone to screw, it might be worth us knowing what we're walking into before we actually walk into it." Blaire argued, defending her older brother, "Cut the attitude, Sam."

"Yes, Mom." Sam muttered, getting into the car.

"What did I just say?" Blaire snapped, climbing into the car, "Let's just find this girl and give ourselves some kind of head start, huh?"

They arrived at the girl's address and knocked on her door. A beautiful dark haired girl answered, looking confused at the three strangers on her doorstep.

"You must be Haley Collins." Dean began, "I'm Dean, this is Sam, and this is Blaire. We're rangers from the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over, and we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy."

He indicated each of his siblings in turn while introducing them and waited patiently for a response from the young woman. They were so used to lying to people it came very naturally to all of them, which made Blaire suddenly realise how awful that was. It was amazing that any of them were capable of being honest considering the fact they spent most of their time living a lie.

"Let me see some ID." Haley said, eyeing them suspiciously.

Dean quickly pulled out an ID card which she checked over, and then reluctantly, she let them in. Blaire was astounded that the others hadn't been asked to produce ID, but clearly Dean's word was enough. Blaire hadn't missed the girl giving her brother the once-over with slightly glazed eyes, so she had a feeling that the other reason that Haley had believed Dean was because she found him attractive. The dark haired girl looked past the trio to see the Impala parked up outside the house, and she smiled at Dean while giving him a curious look.

"That yours?" She asked, earning a nod from Dean, "Nice car."

With that she headed into the house with the siblings in tow. Dean couldn't resist spinning around to look at his siblings, miming the words, " _Oh, my..._ " at them, and he earned nothing but rolled eyes and shakes of the head. When inside, Sam wasted no time in getting down to business. He felt the need to get Dean out of there as soon as humanly possible since he was pretty much drooling over the poor girl. Haley was clearly attracted to him as well which didn't help matters. For Sam, time was of the essence. The sooner they found their dad the better.

"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" He asked the girl as she served up dinner for her and her brother.

"He checks in every day by cell." She replied, "He emails photos, stupid little videos. But we haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception." Blaire suggested.

"He's got a satellite phone too." Haley responded, which knocked Blaire's theory out.

"Okay, so, could it be that he just forgot to check in... It happens..." She offered again.

"He wouldn't do that." The dark haired boy at the table chimed in before turning, if a little eerily, back to his meal.

"Our parents are gone." Haley said quietly, looking to the boy, "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Haley replied, and proceeded to show them the pictures and a video that he made in his tent.

Sam was looking suspiciously at the video, but no-one else seemed to notice this, and the siblings took the time to reassure Haley that they'd find her brother. She then revealed her plan to go out there herself, which filled Dean and Blaire with a sense of dread, while Sam asked her to forward the images onto him, so that they could look further into them. He could tell that something wasn't right about them, and he knew that if he could look more closely, it might give them an idea of exactly what their dad was looking for out there.

* * *

Inside a smoky bar, Blaire was standing at the bar buying her brothers drinks. She wanted to smoke so badly, but she didn't want to do it in front of Dean and Sam. She'd taken up smoking again since their dad went missing, and she didn't need the lecture from them about what it would do to her body. The smell of nicotine in the air was driving her _insane_.

She was trying to ignore the smell of the smoke in the are as she took the tray of drinks over to them, but someone knocked into her as she was heading over that way, snapping her out of her thoughts. The usual response from her would be for them to get the hell out of her way, but instead, she heard a soft apology from the man who'd bumped into her.

"Sorry, ma'am." He said to her in a southern accent, tipping his hat to her.

"No problem." She replied with a sweet grin, heading back over to her brothers who were deep in conversation about the incidents at Blackwater Ridge.

"They were never found." Sam was saying.

"Any before that?" Dean asked, looking up as Blaire put the tray of drinks down in front of them, "Thanks, darlin'."

"Yeah, in 1982, eight people all vanished in the same year." Sam said excitedly, handing Dean a pile of newspaper articles which Blaire leaned around to see, "Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And again in 1959, and again before that in 1936. Every twenty-three years."

"Like clockwork." Blaire agreed as Sam pulled out his laptop.

"And here's the clincher." Sam told them both, "Watch this. I downloaded that guy's video to the laptop. Check this out."

The siblings gathered around the computer to have a look. As Sam played part of the video, he paused it and then moved it along by three single frames, and in the background, a dark shadow passed over the kid's tent. Blaire swallowed thickly as she scooted closer to take a peak.

"Do it again?" Dean asked, watching his little brother repeat the same thing again.

"God, that's three frames." Blaire breathed, "That's what? A fraction of a second? Whatever that thing is... Man, it can move."

Dean suddenly whacked Sam in the chest quite harshly, startling both of his other siblings. He looked at the still of the video and then across at Sam with a rather annoyed expression on his face. Blaire resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. The arguing was starting to get worse between Sam and Dean and while Dean didn't need Blaire to stick up for him, she did it anyway. Sam had no idea of what Dean and Blaire had sacrificed for him as kids. They had no childhood to try and make sure he had good memories of his, and sometimes, when Sam behaved like an ass, both of them wanted to show him what they'd been through for him in their younger years.

"See, I told you something weird was going on." Dean said, half glaring at his brother.

"Yeah." Sam said after a moment, "I got one more thing."

He closed the laptop and got out yet another sheet of paper, handing it to Dean so that Blaire could see it as well. Blaire took a sip of her beer and her eyebrows knotted with concentration as she listened to her brother.

"In '59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid." Sam told his siblings, looking at them intently, "Barely crawled out of the woods alive."

"Is there a name?" Dean asked, watching the smile break out onto Sam's face.

They hurriedly drank up and left, heading to the address of the person in question. Blaire was still dying for a cigarette and hadn't had the chance to have one yet. Sooner or later she'd just have to openly say she was smoking again. The lack of nicotine was making her pissy and in her desperation for a cigarette, she didn't care if she got a lecture.

* * *

The elderly man that they were visiting was quite happy to let them in, but he was confused as to why they were approaching him at this point. The attack had been so long ago now, he didn't get why it was so important to speak to him.

"Look, Ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this." He said as the Winchesters walked into his home, "It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a..."

"Grizzly?" Sam asked, "That's what attacked them?"

Mr. Shaw, the gentleman in question, had a cigarette in his mouth and it made Blaire's foot itch even more. If she ever said you were making her foot itch, it meant you were royally pissing her off, and the lack of nicotine was driving her absolutely crazy, so to see another person smoking just made her snap. She needed a cigarette _now._

As Shaw stalled at Sam's question, he slowly nodded and Blaire could tell that he was drawing himself further away from their line of questioning, which wasn't what they needed. So, she took the opportunity to draw his mind away from his sudden worry, and to tell her brothers that she was smoking again all in the same moment.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I...?" She took out her pack of cigarettes and a lighter and held them up to the older man who stared at her for a few moments, "I've been dying for one of these all damn day."

"Knock yourself out." Shaw told her, going back to his pacing as Dean and Sam death glared their sister, watching her expertly light the 'cancer-stick'.

"So, the other people that went missing that year..." Blaire began, stepping a little closer to the old man as she took a drag of her cigarette, "Those were bear attacks too?"

As she breathed out the smoke, she also mimed, " _Oh, my God..._ " as she relished in the feel of the cigarette between her fingers. She approached the old man with a tender smile, knowing that he was still badly traumatised to this day by whatever had happened in those woods. Her brothers wouldn't have handled that in the same way, but the fact that she and Mr. Shaw were both smokers gave him the belief that she could relate to him, even if it was only through the joint smoking habit, and it very quickly put him at ease.

"Is there something that you think we should know? Are you sure that these were bear attacks?" She asked gently as he sat in his arm chair, which she knelt in front of, "Mr. Shaw, what did you see? We're not here to judge or to disbelieve you. We just want your side of the story."

He seemed to relax, if only a little at her kind expression and her soft words. Dean and Sam approached, trying not to wince at the smell of cigarette smoke that was now wafting all around them. Blaire was so grateful to have this cigarette, it couldn't be put into words.

"What did you see, sir?" Blaire asked again.

"Nothing..." Shaw said after a few moments, "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it though... A roar, like no man or animal I ever heard."

"It came at night?" Sam asked, earning a nod from the nervous man in front of them, "Got inside your tent?"

"It got inside our cabin." Shaw replied as Blaire took another drag from her cigarette, "I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door... It unlocked it."

The siblings all shared a look between them. Of course this wasn't a bear. Blaire turned back to Mr. Shaw and put a comforting hand on his arm to let him know that they believed him. It must've been awful going through life not being believed about your story when you actually knew the truth.

"You know of a bear that could do something like that?" He asked them, "I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?" Blaire asked him, her expression one of sorrow and horror as she thought of what he must've gone through.

"Dragged 'em off into the night." Shaw answered, shaking his head, "Why it left me alive... Been asking myself that ever since. Did leave me this though..."

And with that, he pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal a huge scar from what appeared to be gigantic claw marks. He nodded at the siblings and then placed his hand gently on top of Blaire's as she took another drag from her cigarette.

"There's something evil in those woods." He said in his gravelly voice, his eyes never leaving hers as he trembled, "It was some sort of a demon."

Blaire felt her stomach drop, and she put the cigarette back in her mouth, placing her now free hand on top of Mr. Shaw's, and she squeezed, smiling at him kindly. The siblings thanked the man for his time and then got up to leave. Blaire didn't miss Dean's enraged expression as she passed him and stepped out into the hallway. She knew she was in for it now.

"What the hell are these?" Dean hissed when the door to Mr. Shaw's apartment had closed, grabbing the cigarettes from her pocket, "Blaire, what did we tell you about these?"

"I'm twenty-four, man!" She snapped, taking the cigarettes back, "You can't tell me what to do. Cigarettes relieve my stress, and I have enough of that with you two around!"

Dean stared at her in disbelief and Sam glared at her as though she'd kicked a puppy or something. She spun around on them, pointing at them with the last bit of her cigarette between her fingers, her expression one of utter annoyance.

"Do you think that we would've gotten half the information out of him that we did if I hadn't had this?" She asked them, getting angry with them while trying to keep her voice down, "He clearly wasn't comfortable talking about this to you guys. This 'cancer-stick' was something he could relate to. He took solace in the fact that someone here was similar to him in some way. _That_ is why he talked!"

She paused and stubbed out the cigarette on the windowsill they were passing, running her hands into her hair. She was tired of being ordered around by people. She was old enough and strong enough to look after herself.

"I don't have them often anyway." She admitted, looking to the floor like a child who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, "We've got bigger problems than my smoking right now. I only get the cravings once a month. Near my period. From then on, I don't really need them. That's why I never have more than a pack at a time."

"Right." Dean answered her, looking to Sam and then nodding at her slowly, "Sorry. We just don't want you to kill yourself with those things. Okay? You know... We do like having you around here. And we need you fit and healthy with good stamina, and those things..."

"I get it. Now back to Shaw's statement." She interrupted as they walked away from his place and down the hallway, "It unlocked the door?"

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors if they want inside, they just have to go through the walls." Dean said as they headed through the corridors.

"So it's probably something else. Something corporeal." Sam suggested.

" _Corporeal_?" Dean asked, "Excuse me, professor?"

"Shut up." Sam said with a glare, "So, what do you think?"

"The claws, the speed that it moves..." Blaire began, "Could be a Skinwalker, maybe a Black Dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal."

She stopped and looked to her brothers as they reached the doorway which led to the exit. Dean looked at them both with a half smile and patted them both on the backs, making Sam and Blaire wince at the same time. He was stronger than he realised sometimes.

"Which means we can kill it." He said with a cheerful grin, heading towards the exit of the building with his siblings in tow.

* * *

Back at the car, the Winchesters were gathering a bag of weapons to take with them to kill the creature with. Dean kept checking around them as they gathered weapons and ammo to make sure that no-one saw them or spied them doing so. Sam leaned over the trunk as Dean and Blaire loaded the bag, a concerned expression making its way onto his face.

"We cannot let that Haley girl go out there." He said as he began to help load up.

Blaire let out a bitter chuckle as she grabbed her trusty knives and slid them into the sheaths that she'd built into her boots. She shook her head and then grabbed a .45, locking and loading it before placing it in the holster that sat on her hip. She always felt paranoid about walking around armed, even if she had invented ways of keeping her weapons well hidden from view.

"What are you gonna tell her?" She asked, "She can't go into the woods because there's a big scary monster?"

When Sam said yes, she laughed again. She knew her brother could be naive sometimes about how people's minds worked, and that wasn't because he was dumb or anything. He just saw too much good in people sometimes and he forgot that most people were highly sceptical and would have the siblings sectioned if the three of them went around openly talking about such things.

"Sam, normal people don't believe in this kind of stuff, remember?" She replied, "She'll just think we're crazy, and she'll go anyway. She's looking for her brother. She won't sit out on this."

"Exactly." Dean agreed, "We go with her, we protect her and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend."

Sam stared at his siblings in disbelief as Dean took the bag out of the trunk, and he closed it quickly while spitting venom at his siblings again.

"So, finding Dad's not enough?" He asked them, "Now we gotta babysit too?"

Dean and Blaire both turned and glared at him. His attitude was disgusting, and while Dean was happy to not take him up on it other than throwing the bag of weapons at him, Blaire stopped Sam from walking around to the passenger side of the car as Dean got in, and she put a hand on his chest, her eyes going dangerously dark.

"I've told you once about this horrid attitude of yours." She said lowly, "You've had a really tough week, Sam. You've lost someone you were close to and I get that you need revenge on the damn thing that killed her to be able to deal with it. But we can't just let people walk out into these woods knowing that there's danger out there."

Sam seemed to calm under her hand and she brought it up to cup his face. She felt him flinch beneath her touch but she kept her hand there regardless, bringing her other hand up to cup the other side of his face. Dean watched through the rear view mirror and smiled a little. Blaire was always the best one to calm Sam down.

"I know you want to get this over with, and I know you want to stop Haley from going out there, but we all know she'll go anyway." She pointed out, "The best thing we can do is go with her and keep her safe, because that is what this is about. We're trying to keep people safe."

Sam's eyes welled up as his thoughts flitted to Jessica and what she must've gone through on the night she died. He just wanted the damn thing dead. He wanted to know what caused her to die like that. It made a hatred and an anger bubble up inside him that he'd never felt before, and he knew that Blaire could see it in him. She was so perceptive when it came to people and situations, and it always scared the younger Winchester. It was like she could see _through_ him and into his soul. It was unnerving.

"I know you're angry, Sam." Blaire whispered, catching a tear that slipped from his eyes, "I know you just want to find Dad so that we can take out whatever killed Mom and Jess, but you have _got_ to cut Dean and I some slack. Dean did a lot for you as a kid. He practically raised you, sweetheart... Show him a little respect, please?"

"I'm sorry." He muttered, and at his words, Blaire released his face and stepped aside to let him go to the car.

He climbed inside without another word, and Blaire got in the back, keeping an eye on her baby brother.

~ To Be Continued ~

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thanks for reading so far!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Supernatural_ or its characters. I only own Blaire Winchester.

 **A/N:** Hi guys, so here's chapter four! I hope you're enjoying the fic so far. I need to know whether you guys want me to keep this going, because I'm going to be taking down the original series and replacing it with this story and the others that are going to follow it. Thanks to all who have read, favourited and followed so far. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated.

 **Equal-Opportunity-Reader:** Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm glad you're liking the changes to Blaire and the story so far!

Happy reading!

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* * *

 **~ The Paths We Tread: Reunion ~  
~ Chapter Four ~**

The next morning, Dean pulled his car onto the gravel path where Haley, her brother and their guide were waiting.

Their arrival was met with suspicious and confused looks, but the Winchester siblings weren't going anywhere. Dean had even gone so far as to give Sam the option to stay behind, but of course, Sam hadn't taken him up on his offer. As the car stopped, the three of them climbed out, and Blaire adjusted her coat and zipped it up while pulling up her jeans at the same time. Her knives sat comfortably in her boots, hidden out of sight, and her gun was hidden away inside her coat.

"Got room for three more?" Dean asked with a grin.

"Wait, you wanna come with us?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"Who are these guys?" The man behind Haley asked.

"Apparently, this is all the Park Service could muster up for the search and rescue." She said sarcastically.

"Oh, it's nice to be appreciated, huh, boys?" Blaire asked with a laugh, before turning to the young woman, "You're welcome, hun."

"You're rangers?" The sandy-haired man asked.

"That's right." Dean replied, earning a glare from Haley as Sam walked in front.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" She asked, watching Blaire stalk past her with an angry look on her face.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean replied with a grin, walking past her and up after his brother and sister.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" The man asked them, "It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt."

Blaire turned back as Dean walked toward her, and she shot a look of disbelief at her brothers before turning to the man, who looked down his nose at her. She squared up to him and narrowed her eyes, lowering her voice.

"I'd hate to tell you how dangerous it is out there, my friend." She said quietly, "I've seen things that would make a wimp like you piss his pants on sight, so don't start. We can always just turn back and leave you all to the mercy of what's in those trees, but we just wanna help these kids find their brother. Let me give you some advice that you might want to heed next time someone offers to help you out back here..."

She leaned forward so that Haley wouldn't hear and began to whisper quietly into his ear. His eyes widened at her words, and with that, she walked away to join her brothers, who looked to her to find out what she told him.

"I said, ' _In those woods, pal, no-one can hear you scream._ ' Look at the colour of his face. I advised him to strongly consider that the next time he thought of turning help away." She giggled, "I love being mean."

* * *

A while into the walk, things seemed to have calmed down, and people were talking civilly with each other. Sam stayed at the back of the group with Blaire in front of him, while Dean and Haley's friend Roy stayed at the front, keeping her and her brother Ben in between.

"So, Roy, you said you did a little hunting?" Dean asked as they trekked through the greenery within those stunning, yet creepy woods.

"Yeah... More than a little." Roy replied, keeping his focus on the surrounding woodland.

"Uh-huh?" Dean murmured, "So, what kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly bucks. Sometimes bear." Roy responded, still keeping his attention on the forest before him.

"Tell me..." Dean began with a smile on his face, "Did Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?"

With that Roy grabbed Dean's collar and yanked him back, earning a near scared look from the older Winchester who asked him what he was doing. Roy then picked up a stick off the ground and with a smirk, he slammed it into a trap that was hidden among foliage, and the trap snapped shut so loud that it made everyone startle. Blaire swallowed thickly and looked back at Sam who let out a deep breath as well. That was close to say the least.

"You should watch where you're stepping, ranger." Roy smirked again, passing Dean who licked the inside of his mouth aggressively.

"You didn't pack any provisions." Haley accused Dean, "You brought a duffel bag! You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?"

Dean then nodded to Blaire and Sam who trudged past the pair. Ben looked back towards his sister with a worried expression and Blaire just smiled at him softly, patting him gently on the shoulder.

"Come on, bud. They'll be right behind us." She said quietly, edging the boy forwards as Sam caught up with her, "I bet this goes down well."

After a few moments the pair caught up and everything seemed fine, so Blaire and Sam assumed that Dean hadn't told her the full truth about why they were out there. They all walked pretty peacefully until Roy brought them to a stop.

"So, this is it. Blackwater Ridge." He spoke loud enough for the others to hear him.

"What co-ordinates are we at?" Sam asked with a slightly fearful expression.

Roy started to check but the Winchesters already knew the answer. Blaire spoke up from the back for the first time since she and Roy had exchanged words before, and Roy looked at her with amazement as she answered without having to so much as look at a map.

"Thirty-five at minus one-eleven." She said, looking Roy in the eye who looked as though he wanted to have a wander around, "You shouldn't go off by yourself, Roy. Remember what we discussed earlier."

"Don't worry about me." Roy replied with a grin, heading off on his own.

Blaire approached her brothers and looked into the distance, suppressing the shudder that threatened to run through her as much as she could. Haley kept Ben close to her and looked at them with concern as Blaire spoke once more.

"You hear that?" She asked the boys, who nodded along with her, "Not even crickets."

"Alright, everybody stays together." Dean instructed, nodding in Roy's direction, "Let's go."

They began to follow, and stayed on his heels for quite some time until they came to a brighter patch of woodland. Woods always freaked out Blaire, for the simple reason that things like the creature they were hunting lived in them, and, they were so enclosed, yet so open at the same time. It always weirded her out to be woodland, and it was worse if she was on her own.

"Haley! Over here!" Roy suddenly called from the distance, and immediately, everyone rushed in his direction.

When they got to what he had found, the group all stopped and looked at the destruction. Roy came to the conclusion straight away, due to the devastation, and the blood, that it looked like a grizzly attack. Blaire's gut began to twist uncomfortably, and after surveying the scene, she began to move away from it. Sam stayed behind to quieten and calm Haley who was calling for her brother, and Dean followed his sister, who was following the markings left in the ground.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite, but..." She stopped suddenly, "The tracks disappear here... Which tells me that either the bodies were then taken up..."

She pointed to the sky as she looked at her brother, and then she raised her eyebrows at him and continued her theory.

"Or... They were taken down... That or they were carried." She said quietly, shaking her head, "But I can tell you one thing for sure. This ain't no Skinwalker or Black Dog."

As they returned to camp, a sudden screaming came from the distance. Instantly, Blaire drew her knives which startled Haley as she rushed to keep Ben away from the blonde woman. They all sprinted in the direction of the noise, and suddenly the screaming stopped. A thought entered the Winchesters' minds very quickly, and Sam told everyone to get back to camp.

Whatever was keeping Tommy captive was intelligent. It had stolen their packs. Blaire swallowed thickly, looking around her for any clue as to what they were dealing with. Her heart thudded in her chest at the thought of dealing with an unknown enemy. It was always the same when they came across something new.

"It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." Sam said.

"You mean some _one_." Roy began, "Some nutjob out there just stole all our gear."

"Can I talk to you two in private?" Sam asked his siblings, leading them out of the way of the others before quickly turning to Dean, "Let me see Dad's journal."

Dean handed it to the younger Winchester who quickly opened it to flick through, and as he landed on the page he was looking for, he held it up to his siblings. It was the drawing of a Wendingo.

"Whoa, wait a minute..." Dean chuckled, "Wendingos are in the Minnesota Woods, or northern Michigan... I've never even heard of one this far west."

"Think about it." Sam protested, "The claws... The way it can mimic a human voice..."

"Great." Blaire huffed, "Guns are useless then."

Sam then put on his best bitch face and told his siblings that they needed to get those people to safety. He marched off to start telling everyone to go, leaving Dean and Blaire rolling their eyes before following him. Everyone thought he was crazy, and poor Ben was getting scared.

"Dude..." Blaire spoke to Roy in that same tone she'd used earlier, "You know what this thing is? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you. It's nothing _you've_ ever come across before. And it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive, unless we get your sorry, stupid ass out of here."

"You know you're crazy, right?" Roy laughed in her face.

"Hey!" Dean barked, getting in between the two of them, "Get out of her face, man."

"Look, Tommy's still out there!" Haley cried, "And I'm not leaving here without him."

"It's getting late." Dean said after a moment of silence, "This thing's a good hunter in the day... but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it. Not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

* * *

Dean was walking around the camp they'd made, drawing Anasazi symbols on the ground to try and protect them. A Wendingo couldn't cross over them, so it was a good thing that they were surrounded by the damn things. Roy was laughing at Dean as he explained this to Haley, but Dean simply told the God's honest truth, and that was that nobody liked a sceptic. Blaire sat alongside Haley and sharpened her knives in rhythm, counting the strokes she made. Ben watched her intently.

Dean walked across to Sam and the two began to talk quietly. Blaire knew that kind of talk and it was something that she never interfered with. Haley began to ask her questions about her knives and this Wendingo, and while ignoring Roy's scoffs and tuts, she did her best to answer the dark haired girl's questions. Ben sat in silence.

When Dean got up and crouched in front of Sam, Blaire grew concerned, but Dean gave her his usual nod which told her that he had everything under control. Sam was like a powder keg and it scared her. This was her baby brother. She knew that this aggressiveness he had was so unlike him. He had the better temperament. She was the more violent of the three and the more volatile, not Sam. He was impatient to catch whatever had harmed Jessica, and she understood that. But he had to calm down and have some patience, as hard as that was.

The screams of help suddenly returned in the darkness, shooting Blaire straight out of her thoughts. She instantly put her knives away and stood away from Haley and Ben. Dean stood at the front, Sam on their right and Roy at the back, almost as a protective shield.

"Why put your knives away?" Haley asked Blaire almost silently.

"Because they're only going to piss it off." She answered honestly, "Now, shhh... Keep as calm as you can."

The screams for help suddenly turned into roars and Blaire instantly whipped out one of her knives and then her gun. To _Hell_ with pissing it off. She was ready for that son of a bitch. She aimed her gun into the darkness, her knife held tightly in her other hand. Her eyes were wide like Dean's were, and in a smooth motion, she stepped further away from Haley and Ben, who then took refuge on the ground near the others. Haley tried to reassure her brother, who jumped as Roy began to shoot into the darkness at the creature that kept surrounding them.

"I hit it!" Roy yelled with joy, running into the woods after it.

"Roy!" Blaire yelled, turning to her brother, "Boys, we gotta go!"

Dean turned to Haley and Ben and spoke to them with urgency, pointing to where they were stood.

"Don't move."

They ran into the woodland, and in the distance, Blaire's ears picked up a snap and a rustle. A shadow caught her eye and she stuck her arms out, stopping her brothers in their tracks. She turned to them and put a finger to her lips and started retreating.

"Go back to camp." She said quietly, "Before we all get taken..."

With that, the siblings turned on their heels and headed back to Ben and Haley to make sure that the two of them were safe.

* * *

"I don't understand..." Haley said the following morning, "I mean, these things... They aren't supposed to be real."

"I wish I could tell you different." Dean said, looking across at his sister who sat with her head tilted to the sky, a cigarette held elegantly between her slender fingers.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?" Haley asked.

"We don't. But we're safe for now." Dean replied with a comforting smile.

"How do you know about this stuff?" The young woman asked him, taking in the small glimmer of pain that hit his face for a moment.

"Runs in the family." He answered simply, getting up and heading away to check the markings.

As Sam returned to camp with John's journal clutched tightly in his hand, Blaire got to her feet, clearing her throat and brushing her hands on her jeans before quickly dragging her fingers through her hair.

"Look, we have at least half a chance in the daylight." Blaire spoke up, taking a drag of her cigarette, "Let's go kill this evil son of a bitch."

* * *

" _Wendingo_ is a Cree Indian word." Sam explained as he held open John's journal, "It means ' _evil that devours'_."

"They're hundreds of years old and each one was once a man." Dean added, "Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner, or a hunter."

"And what would happen to these men is that during a harsh winter, they'd be cut off from supplies or help and would resort to cannibalism in order to survive." Blaire said quietly, "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities: speed, strength, immortality... And if you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry."

"Well, if that's true... How can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asked, watching the siblings share looks.

"You're not gonna like it..." Dean told her, and in response to him, she protested, "A Wendingo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants."

"If your brother's alive..." Blaire said, putting a hand briefly on Ben's shoulder to comfort him, "It's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe. And we've gotta track it back there."

"And then, how do we stop it?" Haley asked.

"Well, guns are useless, and so are knives." Dean said, pulling out a small red can and a bottle with a rag in it, "Basically, we gotta torch the sucker."

"Oooh, joy!" Blaire said with sarcasm, "Fire in an enclosed space. My favourite kinda flame."

They set off walking, using bloodied hand prints on trees as guides to head deeper into the woods, and closer to the Wendingo's lair. They stopped in a clearing that had deep red claw marks on the barks of practically every tree, and Blaire began to feel a little nervous as she moved to get a closer look.

"You know... I was thinking that those claw prints, so clear and distinct..." Sam began with a huff, "They're almost too easy to follow."

With that, a growl came from behind them, and everyone spun around to see what the noise was. It was surrounding them slowly. Blaire took out her knife and her gun, even though she knew both would be useless. A shape moved among the trees, even though the others couldn't see it properly.

When Haley let out a scream, the group looked to see Roy's body fall to the ground. His neck had been broken, and at this revelation, the Wendingo seemed to get louder, and louder. The Winchesters told Haley and Ben to run, and set off after them. Blaire stayed at the back because Ben was moving a little slower, and in her mind she could see him taking a fall.

She was shocked to see that this actually happened, but she was quick to scoop him up with the help of Sam and the two kept running. A scream sounded in the distance, and as Blaire, Sam and Ben caught up, they found nothing there but the broken remains of the bottle Dean had been carrying.

Blaire put her hands to her head as Sam called out their brother's name, knowing that now it was up to them to save his and Haley's lives. She didn't waste any time in grabbing her brother and Ben to start searching the area for Haley and Dean.

"If it keeps its victims alive..." Ben began, "Why would it kill Roy?"

"Honestly, I think it's because Roy shot at it, Ben." Blaire said gently, "Probably pissed it off."

The young boy began to get a little upset, so Blaire and Sam let him head just a small way in front. But he stopped and knelt down at a patch of ground which made the two Winchesters curious. Ben picked up a blue M&M that was laid on the ground, along with a few others and he smiled triumphantly.

"They went this way!" He told Blaire and Sam, who hurried to have a look for themselves.

There were odd M&Ms scattered on the woodland floor, and it made the Winchesters smile to think that their brother had been so clever as to leave them a trail.

"It's better than breadcrumbs." Sam said with a laugh, patting Ben on the back as the three of them headed off to look for Dean and Haley.

Eventually, their journey led to an old bunker-type building that had warning signs on it about toxic materials. Blaire swallowed down the nerves that settled into her tummy and headed into the dark first. Ben stayed in the middle and Sam climbed in behind.

Inside, Sam took out a flashlight and shot it down what looked like a track for a mine cart to run along. The group stayed close together, walking quietly down the track and further into the dingy underground. A growl sounded in the distance, and without a word, Sam reached for Ben and drew him backwards, who reached out for Blaire instinctively. They all stood against a wall, listening to the creature growling to itself and gurgling as it stalked out of its lair.

Ben began to panic and Blaire quickly slapped her hand over his mouth, drawing her gaze to him instead of the frightening Wendingo. She put a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, and then pointed at her face while miming to Ben.

"Look at me. It's alright."

Ben nodded and as the Wendingo headed outside, Sam, Ben and Blaire cautiously moved around the corner and into the lair. They all stopped when suddenly, they heard a squeak beneath their feet. The floor suddenly gave way and the three of them toppled into the darkness, Blaire landing several feet away from Sam and Ben. She looked up to her right, and there, Dean and Haley were hanging up like cuts of meat ready to be butchered. She shot to her feet as Sam soothed an anxious Ben, and she ran straight to her brother.

"Dean...?" She asked, tapping his face gently, "Look alive, man..."

Dean came to rather quickly, and grunted as though in pain and discomfort. Blaire smiled at him and turned to Sam with relief. They both started to cut the two of them down, and found very quickly that they were both in a lot of pain, probably too much to walk. Haley wouldn't be a problem to get out. She only had a small frame and Blaire could easily carry her.

"You sure you're alright?" Sam asked Dean as he grunted in pain.

"Yeah." Dean replied gruffly, "Where is it?"

Blaire looked back across the cavern and saw a third body hanging up. Before she could move, Haley was there, trying to wake him up. Luckily, they'd found their brother, but he seemed way too still. As Haley touched his face, his head shot up, startling everyone in the cavern. Sam was quick to cut him down and as Tommy basked in the fact that his family had found him, Dean started searching through one of the bags as he'd spotted something unusual. He pulled out too flare guns, and the group smiled, knowing that those would work in taking down the Wendingo.

They started to make their way out, helping each other in the process. Dean and Blaire walked at the front, both of them watching out for any signs of the Wendingo. Everyone was feeling scared, and the main priority was to get Haley and her brothers to safety, even if it meant coming back to take out the Wendingo later. When the monster's growling sounded through the cavern, Blaire quickly raised her flare gun while Dean raised his, and Sam kept the others quiet at the back of the group. Dean looked at his sister and then at Sam who seemed to catch on to the same idea his siblings were thinking.

"We'll distract it." Blaire told them, "You stay with Sam. Do exactly as he says; he's gonna get you out of here."

Haley looked mortified, and as she asked what the two siblings were going to do, Blaire and Dean ran off into the darkness shouting at the Wendingo. Dean called it a freaky bastard, while Blaire told it to come and get some munchies. Sam quickly began to lead the others to safety while Dean and Blaire headed into the tunnels.

"Come on, you son of a bitch!" Blaire yelled, "How about a nice hunk of meat, you scummy bastard?!"

"Double portions if you're fast enough!" Dean added, looking to his sister as they continued to scout the area.

"Something isn't right..." Blaire suddenly whispered, "It's too smart for this... It could've been watching us this whole time, and what's it gonna go for? Two portions or four?"

A roar in the distance scared both siblings so much that they grabbed both of each other. The sounds moved in the direction that Sam and the others were going, so the older Winchesters set off moving the same way. By the time they found the creature, it had backed all four of the others into a corner, and without a word, Blaire raised her flare gun as the Wendingo roared, and whistled as though she was calling a dog.

The Wendingo's hideous gaze met hers and it roared at her, turning its back on Sam and the others. Blaire smiled almost coldly at the beast, her gun still raised and aimed at its torso.

"Hope you like it hot, babe!" She yelled, firing the flare gun so it hit the beast in the centre of its body.

It didn't take long for the Wendingo to go down, and when it was finally dead and laying on the ground still aflame, Blaire even went as far as to walk up to it and light a cigarette on it's burning carcass. Taking a long drag, she let out a breath of smoke and smiled brightly at the others.

"Not bad, huh?"

* * *

When the cops and the ambulance were busy trying to take statements and get Tommy to hospital, Blaire stood away from the commotion.

She didn't want to get involved with what was happening with the others. She just wanted a moment to reflect on what had happened out there. She felt the stress of the situation starting to make her tired, and she carefully ran her fingers into her hair, finding more and more tangles than before.

"You alright?"

She looked up to see Dean approaching her, and she smiled weakly at him, nodding her head. He reached out to her and took her hand, pulling her closer into a one-armed hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and then turned to hug Sam as well.

"We're gonna find Dad, you guys..." She said with a sigh, suddenly feeling greatly unnverved, "Aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are. But in the meantime..." Sam replied, looking at Dean with a smile, "I'm driving."

Dean took out his keys and then looked to them, remembering his earlier offer to his brother. With a less than happy expression, he threw the keys to Sam and the Winchesters climbed into the Impala, only for Sam to drive it away with a very happy look on his face.

~ To Be Continued ~


End file.
